For the guys who have painted their own lips/sideskirts
 

Since it's spring and it's time to get some work done on the car, I decided I'm going to paint my Polyurethane front lip.

It's either going to a shop to have it done or DIY. (still looking for a shop, anybody have recommendations on a relatively cheap paint shop?)

I have no experience in the painting aspect so this will all be entirely new to me but I found a fairly thorough DIY which I'm sure I can follow.



However, the question is, for the people that HAVE done it DIY style, was it worth the work or would it have been better for you to just taken it to a shop and have it done for $200-250 in hindsight?

Thanks in advance!

Using the custom mix spray cans available at auto-body supply shops and taking your time to do it right you can get excellent results. I'd at least attempt the DIY, if you decide your not happy with the results then take it to a shop and your only out an extra $25 for paint and some time.

link to the said DIY if theres a link? tia !

im in a similar situation myself!
if my car was plain color without flakes i would do it myself
but my car has flakes so im not sure if i should diy my new sideskirts :/

If you're planning to DIY because you think you can do a better job yourself I doubt it, but if you're planning to DIY to save a bit of money and also gain some experience I say go for it. Just make sure you take the time to prep it and you should have decent results.

Is your lip in new condition or is it banged up?

Dude, for $100-$150, I'd take to a shop in a heartbeat. It takes a lot of patience and some skills to match the paint on your car.

^ pretty true but it is good to get some experience on these things. another thing is, once painted you'll want to clearcoat it as well. i have yet to come across a spray can clearcoat that matches oem finish at all. if you aren't too picky about this, i say go for it.

if you are only looking to spray it black, i recommend Dupli-Color Trim Paint. super easy to use and fairly hard to fuck up even if you over spray a little.

Can of spray paint's usually around $10 give or take a few bucks depending on quality and then a little sandpaper you have lying around and give it a go.

http://www.ej8squad.com/thread-10494.html

Well i'm going for bang for the buck, it's a banged up lip so I'm not too worried about quality.

Thanks for the tips!

if i were to do it myself, these would be the steps:

clean w/acetone
wetsand 400
clean
adhesion promotor (for polyurethane flex)
primer
wetsand 1500
primer
wetsand 1500

paint coat
wetsand 2000
clearcoat

Please post pics of the result!

ask vdub333 for his experience gloss painting a large area :troll:

might want to wetsand the clearcoat too and then polish it to smooth

Custom cans at Lordco are $40-50 depending if they are metallic or not, I just had one made.

A few comments:

1. If you're doing a metallic flake, get a shop to do it. Its very hard for a DIYer to get the flakes to setup right, hell its hard for a shop to get right. My car has various sections painted by different shops over the years when I had work done - while all the silver sections look reasonably close, I can tell they are off by a bit from various angles cause of the way it was repainted and the way the flakes setup.

2. If you don't care about imperfections then go for it. Otherwise take it to a shop. You'll never find an environment free of dust, so any painting will get some dust particles in it. For a front lip I wouldn't care since its the most likely to chip and then any imperfections won't shop up anyways.

3. If you DIY, maybe invest instead in protective film. Every DIY job I have done has chipped easier than when a shop has done it - as spray bombs just cannot match the quality of paint at a shop, and a shop can bake it so the paint sets up harder.

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/15...600x600Q85.jpg

A few hours worth of work, and was painted by alternating leftover bright red brake caliper paint and a darker cherry red wood paint. It worked. Obviously depending on how nice the vehicle is the budget approach isn't necessarily the best option, but if it's not going to undergo close scrutiny you can probably get it done for a few hour's work and a couple of dollars worth of paint.

Going to be tackling this Monday by myself DIY style, any last minute tips?

I read the cleaning you can just use dishwashing soap to get rid of the wax/grease right?